


I Like You, You're Nice

by blueruin



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Halloween, Kid Fic, M/M, Trick or Treating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-22 10:22:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12479396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueruin/pseuds/blueruin
Summary: The one where Zayn loves Halloween, Harry and his son fall in love with Zayn, and the rose ring makes an important cameo appearance.





	I Like You, You're Nice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [itsallaboutzarry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsallaboutzarry/gifts).



> Written in haste in one sitting based on [this exchange](http://ohthativy.tumblr.com/post/65384749449/ivy-hiiii-i-have-this-kinda-halloween-prompt) between Ivy and her anon.
> 
> The title is from a song by Blossom Dearie.
> 
> This is for Tina. Thank you for the late-night chats about zarry and fic.
> 
> Happy Halloween!

It’s October 31st and the streets are littered with ghosts, witches, zombies, superheroes, pirates, monsters, aliens, princesses, and parents. No door is left unanswered; no resident is immune to adorable kids staring with imploring eyes and clutching bags filled with treats.

Halloween has always been Zayn Malik’s favorite holiday. He loves the crisp October air, watching old scary movies, seeing little kids in sick costumes, carving pumpkins, reading ghost stories, and eating a whole lot of candy. Every year, Zayn stays at home, prepares his treats for the neighborhood kids, and curls up on the couch with a book and his dog, Rhino.

He’s just finished reading “Something Wicked This Way Comes” when he hears three soft knocks. Zayn gets up and heads to the door, with Rhino following closely behind him. He grabs the bowl of candy and smacks his palm against his forehead after realizing that it’s empty.

Zayn always makes sure that he has enough candy for everyone. He always buys the good stuff and even adds fun little toys in the mix, much to the delight of his tiny visitors. But earlier that night, a little girl dressed as Coraline - complete with blue hair, a yellow raincoat, and matching yellow boots – knocked on his door and broke his heart. She looked up at him with her sad eyes and tear-stained face then held up her empty bag before saying “Trick or Treat” in a tiny voice.

“She tripped and dropped her bag a few minutes ago,” her mother explained. “Everything spilled out and some of the kids – well, we’re here to start over, I suppose.”

Zayn crouched down to get on her level. “I think that yours is the best costume I’ve seen all day, and that deserves a prize. Is Coraline your favorite?” The little girl nodded her head in response. “Mine, too.” He grabbed his bowl of candy and poured out everything into her bag.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she switched her gaze between her bag and Zayn’s empty bowl. She turned to her mother as if to ask for permission before slamming into Zayn and giving him a tight hug. She then whispered, “Thank you, Mister. You’re my favorite, too.”

That melted Zayn’s damn heart, so of course he went to get the last few bags of candy in his stash and gave them all away. The little girl giggled as she gave him another hug then shared a Twix bar with him before leaving with her mom. Zayn may have gotten carried away, but it was worth it to see her so happy.

He hears another soft knock on the door and he opens it to find a little boy dressed as Batman.

“Good evening, sir,” he says. “Trick or treat!”

Zayn smiles at the little boy, who’s all green eyes and dimples and good manners. “That’s a sick costume. Very impressive.”

The little boy beams at him, making his dimples curve in. “Thank you, sir.”

Zayn sees Rhino wagging his tail excitedly. “It looks like Rhino loves your costume, too.”

“Hi Rhino,” the little kid says happily. He gasps when he sees Rhino’s costume. “Is he dressed as Deadpool?”

“He is.” Zayn laughs as he looks around for an adult. “Are you here alone?”

“My dad’s over there,” he says, pointing to a tall guy in a dark suit down the street. “I’m supposed to be learning how to do things on my own.”

“How’s it going so far?” Zayn asks.

“Not well, I’m afraid,” the boy answers.

Zayn snorts. “Well, he’s dressed in a suit. Does that mean he’s your Alfred?”

“Yes!”

“That’s clever.”

“It was my idea,” the boy says proudly.

“I’m not surprised,” Zayn tells him. “You seem very smart.”

The little kid looks down at his feet to hide his blush. “Thank you.”

Zayn crouches down to look him in the eyes. “My name is Zayn. What’s yours?”

“I’m Milo,” he says, as he holds out his hand for Zayn to shake. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Well, Milo. I seem to have run out of candy.” Zayn notices the disappointment on the boy’s face. “But, if you come back later with your dad, I promise I’ll have something for you by then.”

“You promise?” Milo asks.

Zayn holds out his pinky finger. “I pinky promise.”

That seems to reassure Milo, who smiles at him as he links their pinky fingers together.

Zayn removes his rose ring then places it carefully on Milo’s hand. “How about you hold onto this for me then bring it back when you come by later? So you’ll know that I’m not lying.”

Milo holds the ring with both hands and looks at Zayn with a determined look on his face. “I’ll take good care of it, Mr. Zayn. I promise.”

 

* * *

 

“So, what did you get?” Harry Styles asks as soon as his son joins him.

“Nothing yet,” Milo replies.

“What’s that on your hand?”

“A promise.”

Sometimes, Harry hates that his eight-year-old son is probably a lot smarter than he is. “What do you mean?”

Milo tells him about Zayn and his promise to come back later. Then he carefully opens his hand and shows Harry the rose ring. “I promised Mr. Zayn that I’ll take good care of it.” Milo looks around then drops his voice in a whisper. “But I’m scared I’ll drop it.”

Harry smiles at him. “Do you want me to wear it? So it won’t fall out while we’re walking?” Milo nods then hands him the ring. Harry puts it on his right ring finger and checks to see if it fits. It does. Perfectly. In fact, he likes the look of it on his hand. “What do you think?”

“Looks good,” Milo tells him. “Promise you won’t lose it?”

Harry crosses his heart. “I promise.”

They walk hand in hand as they go from one house to the next. Milo constantly checks for the rose ring on Harry’s hand to see if it’s still there. Harry thinks it’s sweet that his son seems to be guarding the ring with his life, as if it’s a precious diamond that he’s been tasked to look after.

Milo has always been wary of anyone other than his family ever since his mom left a few years ago. He thinks that everyone always leaves so he doesn’t try to make friends anymore. They also used to move around a lot because of Harry’s job as a travel writer, which likely contributed to Milo’s grim mindset. It worried Harry to no end, so he made sure to settle down and get a house of their own to establish a routine and hopefully allow Milo to form friendships with other people.

They moved to this neighborhood a few months ago, after Harry got hired as a writer for a local magazine. So far, Milo hasn’t talked about meeting new friends or inviting anyone for a sleepover. He wonders, briefly, about this Mr. Zayn and how he’s managed to charm his son so easily. “What’s Mr. Zayn like?”

“He’s cool,” Milo replies. “He said my costume was sick, and he knew you were Alfred.”

“So he’s nice?”

“Yes. I like his dog, too. He’s dressed as Deadpool!”

“That’s adorable.”

Milo grins at him. “Mr. Zayn said Rhino liked my costume.”

“Well, it is the best I’ve seen all day,” Harry tells him.

“You’re just saying that because you’re my dad,” Milo counters.

“Doesn’t make it untrue.”

“And because you want to steal some of my candy.”

“That’s true, too.”

Milo’s bag is already overflowing with treats by the time they reach the last house on the block. It’s still a bit early, but they call it a night and head back to Zayn’s to return his ring. Milo pulls on Harry’s hand, dragging him excitedly towards Zayn’s house. Harry admires the pretty orange and white fairy lights and the jack-o’-lanterns lining the front porch. Milo checks for the rose ring again before knocking three times.

“Welcome back, Batman,” Zayn says as soon as he opens the door. He turns to Harry and holds out his hand. “Hello. I’m Zayn. You must be Milo’s dad.”

Harry wordlessly shakes Zayn’s hand as he stares unabashedly at the most beautiful person he’s ever seen up close. His son failed to inform him that the Mr. Zayn he’s so fond of is all shiny raven hair, impossibly long eyelashes, sharp cheekbones, and perfectly groomed scruff. He looks so cozy in his black jeans and a maroon sweater that shows off his broad shoulders. His feet are clad in mismatched wool socks, and that’s just too damn much for Harry’s fragile heart.

“Yep, that’s my dad,” Milo says on his behalf, which breaks Harry out of his trance.

Harry shakes his head in disbelief then clears his throat. “Hi, I’m Harry.”

Zayn scratches the back of his neck. “Sorry you had to come by twice. But I made good on my promise.” He flashes them a smile that makes Harry’s heart leap to his throat.

Rhino appears at Zayn’s side and Milo crouches down to pet him. “Dad, this is Rhino."

Harry bends down to shake the dog’s paw. “Hello, Rhino.” He straightens up then turns to look at Zayn. “You have a beautiful dog. And top-notch Halloween décor.”

“Thank you.” Zayn flashes him a sheepish smile. “I don’t know if you can tell, but I love Halloween.” His eyes dart towards the bag of candy by Harry’s feet. “Whoa, that’s an impressive haul.” Milo beams at him with pride. “I guess you don’t need my treat anymore.”

“Yes, I do!” Milo says as he stands up. “I promise!”

Harry catches Zayn’s eye as they both chuckle. Zayn gestures for them to wait for a moment before disappearing inside the house.

Milo wiggles in excitement. “What do you think it is?”

Harry suppresses a laugh as he shrugs. “I don’t know, bud. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

After a few seconds, Zayn reappears with his hands behind his back. “Ready?” he asks Milo, who nods enthusiastically. He grins at him before handing him a piece of paper.

Milo gasps. “You made this?” Zayn nods in response. Milo stares at the paper again before turning to Harry. “Dad, look! I’m in a comic!”

“Wow,” Harry mumbles as he scans the comic strip. There’s Milo dressed as Batman, saving a little girl with blue hair from evil monsters stealing her candy. He turns to look at Zayn. “You drew this?”

“Yeah,” Zayn says with a sheepish smile. He crouches down to get on Milo’s level. “I know it’s not much, but I’m afraid it’s the only thing I can offer right now.”

Milo leans forward to hug him. “I love it, Mr. Zayn! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, little man,” Zayn says.

“I make comics, too, Mr. Zayn,” Milo tells him excitedly. “Can I show you?”

“Anytime.” Zayn looks at Harry. “But you need to ask your dad for permission first.”

Milo looks up at Harry. “Dad? Can we please come back tomorrow so I can show Mr. Zayn my drawings?” He widens his eyes and juts out his bottom lip.

Harry chuckles. “Sure, bud.”

“Yes!” Milo exclaims as he raises a triumphant fist in the air.

“Say goodnight to Mr. Zayn and Rhino for now,” Harry tells him. “It’s almost bedtime.”

Milo gives Zayn another hug. “Goodnight, Mr. Zayn. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Zayn laughs. “Goodnight, little man.”

Milo rummages around his bag and takes out the biggest candy bar in his stash. “This one’s for you. Happy Halloween!”

“Are you sure?” Zayn asks Milo, who nods in response. “Thank you, Milo. This means a lot.” He holds out his fist to Milo for a fist bump. “Happy Halloween!”

Milo turns to Rhino and hugs him. “Goodnight, Rhino. I really like your Deadpool costume. Don’t tell the other dogs, but you’re my favorite. See you tomorrow!”

“Rhino and I will be here waiting for you,” Zayn assures him.

Harry awkwardly waves at Zayn before noticing the ring on his finger. “Oh, I almost forgot! Here’s your ring.”

Zayn stares at the rose ring on Harry’s hand then looks up at him through his ridiculously long eyelashes. “Keep it. Looks better on you anyway.”

Harry tries to hide his blush as he mutters a _thank you_. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” He glances at Zayn, who’s looking at him with a sly grin. Harry hurriedly takes a step back and trips on a jack-o’-lantern.

Zayn grabs him by the hips to steady him. “You okay?”

Harry nods as he feels his face getting warm from embarrassment and Zayn’s proximity. “Thank you. Sorry about your pumpkin.”

Zayn chuckles and removes his hands from Harry’s hips. “Don’t worry about it. Just be careful going down the stairs, yeah?”

Harry nods again as he takes Milo’s hand. He flashes Zayn a smile before turning to walk away.

“Bye, Mr. Zayn!” Milo calls out with a wave.

Harry sneaks a final glance at Zayn, who’s still standing on his front porch with Rhino.

Milo tugs at his hand. “Mr. Zayn is cool, isn’t he?”

Harry blushes at the mere mention of Zayn’s name like a teenager with a crush. _Get it together, Styles_. “I like him. He’s nice.”

Milo grins at him. “He’s the nicest! I can’t wait to see him and Rhino tomorrow.”

 _Me, too,_ Harry thinks before mentally reprimanding himself.

“Dad?” Milo says as he tugs on Harry’s hand again.

“Yeah, bud?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Harry asks.

“For today and tomorrow and tomorrow and everyday,” Milo replies.

Harry’s eyes begin to well up with tears. “Oh, bud. You’re very welcome. Come here.” He crouches down to give Milo an all-encompassing hug. Harry reluctantly pulls away from the hug to look at his son’s adorable face. “Home?”

Milo nods. “Home.” He takes Harry’s hand in his and inspects the rose ring. “Then tomorrow we’ll go to Mr. Zayn’s, right?”

Harry laughs.

**Author's Note:**

> If you wish to cry over these beautiful idiots, fangirl over talented zarry authors, discuss music and stories and writing, or just talk about random things, send me a note at https://smoke-flowers.tumblr.com and I’ll reply. I promise.


End file.
